Top facts about Michel Platini, the King

Michel François Platini, better known as Michel Platini, is a former French footballer and sports leader who was born in Joeuf on June 21, 1955. He was the president of UEFA, the worldwide governing body of European football, from 2007 until 2015.

Michel Platini’s age

is 65. Here, we take a look at some of the most important facts about Michel Platini, the French former hero.

 Michel Platini was banned from soccer for eight years due to ethical infractions in the 'FIFA Gate' corruption scandal. He was able to lower his sentence to four years, allowing him to return to football in October 2019, although he still faces legal issues as a result of the incident.

FIFA has named him one of the finest players of the twentieth century and one of the greatest midfielders in the game's history. He won the Italian championship, the European Champions Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup with Juventus, as well as the European Cup of Nations with France, and was awarded the Ballon d'Or for three years in a row between 1983 and 1985. He was also awarded the honorary title of knight of the Legion of Honor by the French government.

Top facts about Michel Platini:

The first

fact about Michel Platini

is that on December 14, 2020, he was named to the Ballon d'Or's third legendary Dream Team as an attacking midfielder. Platini was detained in France on June 18, 2019, on allegations of corruption in connection with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The probe focused on a meeting between Qatari authorities and Sarkozy and Platini in the Palace of the Eliseo in November 2010, which also included Guéant and Dion.

Michel Platini early life

Speaking about

Michel Platini’s parents

, his father is Aldo Platini (1927-2017), who was the son of an Italian immigrant (originally from Novara in Piedmont) who came to settle in Lorraine after World War like so many Italians or Poles. He came to work in the iron mines or the steel industry and his mother is Anna Piccinelli. The region of Joeuf in Meurthe-et-Moselle is nicknamed Little Italy.

Aldo, then Michel, were born in Lorraine, in Joeuf. Aldo was an amateur football player who dared not take the plunge into professionalism, preferring to continue a more stable career as a math teacher. He was captain of the Lorraine amateur team and was approached by professional teams around his 28, too late for him. Michel was brought up in a sporting environment, his uncles played basketball.

His father remained very close to the field, however, becoming coach of Joeuf in the Honorary Division, then of the Division 3 team of AS Nancy-Lorraine. Michel's mother, Anna Platini née Piccinelli, was the daughter of the owner of the Sports Café located in Joeuf. These Italian roots marked Michel Platini from his childhood, influencing his sports career and his choice to play for Juventus FC.

Regarding

Michel Platini’s childhood

, he was immediately drawn to football, challenging himself on the pitch, such as hitting the goal post. He was constantly advised by his father who made him work physically and tactically, in particular on the principle of anticipation (jumping before his opponent, knowing who to pass the ball to before receiving it). He studied at the small local club of AS Joeuf. He always played with bigger and older players than him.

Michel Platini personal life

Michel Platini's love journey has only had one woman, and that woman is his wife, Christelle Bigoni. Michel was still competing for AS Nancy when he met Christelle, an ecological science student at the time. She, too, was a sports fan who never hesitated to identify with her husband in his numerous tracksuits.

An important fact about

Michel Platini’s personal life

is that in 1977, the pair married and have been together ever since. Laurent Platini and Marine Platini are their children.

Platini was well-known for his pranks. He would light firecrackers in public areas and would frequently play practical jokes on his teammates by squeezing toothpaste tubes on their mattresses.

Platini fell at a diner in the Michaelangelo Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, on July 9, 2010, a day before the 2010 World Cup third-place play-off. After receiving first treatment from a Brazilian radio director who was sitting at the table next to him, he was transported to the Morningside Medi-Clinic with a possible heart attack.

Dr. Leonard Steingo, a cardiologist and past President of the South African Heart Association, treated him and discharged him.  Platini's release was verified by FIFA in a public announcement, which stated that the UEFA President was "OK, and only suffering from an attack of illness."  Two days later, on the evening of July 11, Platini was reported to be present for the final between

and the

.

Michel Platini professional career

Michel Platini was known for his tremendous technique and exceptional free-kick shooting during his playing career. He overcame his physical disadvantages with improved technique and game vision, propelling him to the pinnacle of European football.

Platini was three times the top scorer in the Italian League and is the third highest scorer in the history of the French squad. He is regarded as one of the greatest passers of all time.

Michel Platini club career

Michel Platini was only sixteen years old, and already shined brightly within the junior formation of AS Joeuf which faced the juniors of

. Summoned to the pre-selection camp of the Metz club, Platini, injured, could not participate.

The Metz coach then changed his club and Michel Platini was struck off the lists. At sixteen and a half, he played for the first team of Joeuf in Promotion d'Honneur with the number 9 on his back and was elected top scorer the competition.

A notable fact about Michel Platini’s professional career is that the FC Metz again invited him at a preset course, but the breathing capacity test went wrong. After no less than ten spirometer attempts, Michel fainted.

The doctor's verdict was: very low breathing capacity, heart failure. Platini would therefore not play for Metz. Platini opted for AS Nancy-Lorraine and joined the reserve team in September 1972. He met Jean-Michel Moutier, a young reserve keeper, who quickly became his friend.

Nancy

Platini earned his official debut for

in May 1973, scoring a hat-trick in his first game for the reserve team versus Valenciennes. In a game versus OGC Nice in 1974, he injured his left leg and required surgery. Nancy was relegated that year, but because of Platini's efforts in Ligue 2, where he scored 17 goals, Nancy was able to return to the top flight of French football.

An important

fact about Michel Platini

is that he signed his first professional contract with Nancy for two years after the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and guided his club to victory in the 1978 French Cup versus Nice by scoring the game's lone goal.

In 1979, his contract with Nancy expired, and inter,

, and

were all interested in signing him. He finally agreed to a three-year deal with AS Saint-Étienne.

Saint-Étienne

Platini spent three years with the Vertidos, who had an outstanding record in European championships at the time. In 1981, he won Ligue 1, as well as reaching two consecutive French Cup finals, versus Bastia in 1981 and Paris Saint-Germain in 1982, in his final year at Les Verts before signing for one of Europe's greats, Juventus.

Juventus

Platini was signed by

in 1982. This team won the Italian

and the Italian Cup, as well as the European Cup, Cup Winners Cup, and Super Cup of Europe, as well as the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Argentinos Juniors on penalties in Tokyo after tying the game at 2 goals apiece, game in which the game's winner scored a goal and converted the penalty in the description.

The 1985 European final, played at Heysel against

, should have been the peak of his career with Juventus. But the Heysel drama is undoubtedly the most painful memory of his career. Author of the only goal of the meeting, Michel Platini found himself at the center of a media controversy in the days following the tragedy, some criticizing him for his lack of restraint in the celebration of victory.

But Platini would defend himself by maintaining that, like all the players in the meeting, he had been left in the dark about the extent of the tragedy.

In 1987 he wrote, “With its procession of innocent victims, with the blued faces of these martyrs, children or adults, women or men, the Heysel must remain engraved in all memories as a symbol. In Brussels, in this cursed Heysel stadium, death is inscribed forever.” And his famous “gesture of joy” at the final whistle was only a “liberating movement of rage”.

Michel Platini was a key player of the legendary Bianconero club, which had achieved tremendous exploits in Europe A notable fact about Michel Platini’s career (the three Great Cups) and won the league in an exclusive manner under Giovanni Trapattoni's technical guidance.

He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1983, 1984, and 1985, a prize given out annually by France Football magazine to the finest player in Europe. Michel Platini was the only player to win the title three years in a row; Lionel Messi of Argentina now holds the record, which he set between 2009 and 2011.

Michel Platini international career

On March 27, 1976, he made his France national football team debut against Czechoslovakia at the Park des Princes stadium in Paris. With about 23 years, he made his debut in the Soccer World Cup in 1978. His squad fared well in the World Cup, despite not making it through the first round.

An important fact about Michel Platini’s international career is that he scored his first World Cup goal in the game he participated versus

. Then he played in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, when his team reached the quarterfinals both times. It might be stated that his career took off in Spain in 1982, and he was hailed as one of the best footballers of all time.

On that event, he took part in one of the most famous World Cup semi-finals in history: the encounter versus West Germany. In this match, which the Germans started to win,

managed to tie the score with a goal from Platini, and in extra time, after the contest had finished 1-1, France managed to go ahead on the scoreboard, building a 3-1 lead; however, the Germans draw 3-3 and won the match on penalties.

France played two more noteworthy matches in Mexico in 1986. One in the second round against Italy, and notably in the quarterfinals versus Brazil.

entered without having lost a match and with an unbeaten record on the fence; Michel Platini defeated them by tying the game.

A fact about Michel Platini is that France qualified for the semifinals through a penalty shootout. This contest would subsequently be dubbed the "Match of the Century" by Pelé. Michel Platini left his imprint on all of the meetings. The German soccer team then knocked France out of the cup.

In 1984, while serving as captain of his team, France and Platini won their first major international title: the Eurocup, with Platini leading the scoring with nine goals.

Michel Platini coaching career

A notable fact Michel Platini is that just over a year after his retirement as a player, he was appointed coach of the France team. He replaced Henri Michel, pushed out following the poor start of the Blues in the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup. The arrival of Platini did not change anything and France was absent in the Italian World Cup.

The deadline after the 1990 World Cup was the qualifiers for Euro 1992, held in Sweden. Platini's men were brilliantly won their qualifying group by winning their eight matches (victories in particular in Spain and Czechoslovakia) and, with a record of 19 games without defeat, asserted themselves among the favorites of the competition.

But a mediocre series of preparatory friendlies, then especially the failure at the Euro (elimination in the first round, not a single victory) pushed him to resign, after leading the Blues 29 times. His record at the head of the France team was 16 wins, 8 draws and 5 losses.

Michel Platini administrative career

Platini co-chaired the planning board for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France alongside Fernand Sastre. From 1988 to 1990, he was a member of the UEFA Technical Development Agency. Since 2002, he has served on the UEFA Executive Committee and the FIFA Executive Committee as a European member.

He rose through the ranks of the UEFA and FIFA football administrations, eventually becoming head of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee and vice-president of the French Football Association in 2006.

Platini announced in July 2006 that he would seek for the UEFA president.  He beat Lennart Johansson, who had held the position for 16 years, by 27 votes to 23 in the Düsseldorf elections on January 26, 2007. Platini spoke on the ideals of cooperation and humanity in his remarks.

An important fact about Michel platini’s career is that he has endorsed the 6+5 concept, which calls for six homegrown players and five imported players to be integrated into European top-flight teams. Platini also supported pay limitations, transfer expenditure limits (both in absolute terms and as a percentage of club turnover), and foreign investment of teams.

He has claimed that the number of Italian, Spanish, and English clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League should be reduced to three instead of four.  This hasn't happened yet; instead, distinct pathways were developed for champions of smaller nations and non-champions of larger nations for the 2009–10 season. He has even mentioned barring clubs from the league because of their indebtedness. 

One of his more controversial ideas is that international transfers of players under the age of 18 are a type of unlawful "kid smuggling" that the EU should outlaw. On February 18, 2009, Platini told EU members, "Paying a youngster to kick a ball is not that different from paying a youngster to work [...] in a factory."

The FIFA Ethics Committee has banned Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini from any football-related activities for a term of eight years.  Michel Platini, the suspended president of UEFA who was disqualified for eight years by FIFA's Ethics Committee, expressed contrition for delaying his campaign for the leadership of that body "deliberately and with a cynicism that does not mask his" candidacy.

Platini blasted the "calendar game" selected by FIFA as incompatible with the election in a fresh statement made by his attorneys after he condemned the process as fraud and stated that he would challenge it.

He was detained in Paris on June 18, 2019, for suspected bribery in the election of the Qatar World Cup in 2022, a competition in which Spain had put out a bid to host. According to the prominent French media Mediapart, the arrest was made as part of an inquiry ordered by the National Finance Prosecutor's office (PNF) "for acts of active and passive bribery."

In its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, Qatar was accused of purchasing votes, and a later analysis by American independent researcher Michael Garca uncovered a network of enterprises in which many of the world's most powerful soccer figures were implicated. In December 2017, a French ex-footballer acknowledged to voting for Qatar's candidacy in a vote on December 2, 2010, and was called as a witness.

The meeting between Qatari officials and Nicolas Sarkozy and Michel Platini at the Elysée Palace in November 2010, which was also participated by former Secretary General of the Palace Claude Guéant and Sophie Dion, a senior ambassador to the then French president, is the subject of the investigation for which Michel Platini has been arrested.

Michel Platini style of play

Platini is recognized as one of the biggest footballers of all time as well as one of the best playmakers in football history and one of the best ever penalty kick and free kick experts.

Despite his lack of remarkable physical or muscular characteristics, he was famed for his passing accuracy, technical proficiency, dribbling skills, creative thinking, passing range, and sense of direction.

He was a speedy, flexible, elegant, and smart offensive midfield playmaker with a distinctive ability to understand the game and bend the ball from set pieces.

Another

fact about Michel Platini

is that he was a proven scorer while primarily serving as a central player who played in a more withdrawn role behind the forwards, orchestrating attacking plays, providing assists, and creating chances for others.

Given being mainly right, he was known for his ability to produce attacking chances for himself by playing exchanges with his teammates until he was in a position from which he could take the ball and score; indeed, he wowed the crowd with his footballing cognitive ability, motion, and confidence in front of goal, as well as his precise finishing ability with either foot, as well as his head.

Platini's distinctive free kick style, which frequently saw him hitting the ball over the wall, impacted several other specialists, including Alessandro Del Piero and Andrea Pirlo.  Platini received complaints from his coaches at times owing to his lack of endurance and low defensive work-rate, despite his brilliance, skill, and exceptional playing ability.

He was given the moniker "Le Roi" because of his leadership, domination, tactical, attacking, and creative abilities, as well as his capacity to be a crucial player for his teams ("The King", in French). Platini was also recognized for his on-field professionalism, having never been sent off during his lengthy career.

Michel Platini legacy

In recent years, just mentioning the name Michel Platini has been enough to polarize opinion, and at worst, elicit a barrage of venom and hatred. It wasn't always like this, and Platini was once praised only for his footballing skills and the grace and finesse he brought to the game.

Although few would argue that Platini's fall from favor was anything other than self-inflicted, the damage to his playing career remains a disgrace. Platini had a fifteen-year career in France and Italy until retiring in 1987 at the comparatively early age of 32.

Platini, widely regarded as the finest-ever French player and one of the finest players of all time, had a star-studded career during which he won several club and individual awards.

An important fact about Michel Platini is that he played in his third and last World Cup in 1986, when France fell to West Germany in the semi-final stage of the tournament in Mexico, as history replayed itself. Platini, on the other side, entrenched himself in the hearts of his compatriots two years beforehand when he nearly single-handedly guided France to European Championship victory on home soil.

Platini lead Les Bleus to victory over Spain in the final, capping an incredible tournament. Platini scored in every game, including two hat-tricks, for a total of nine goals from midfield. He was selected Player of the Tournament, which is unsurprising.

Prior to Platini, France was one of Europe's greatest underachievers, with no previous titles and their highest performance being a respectable third place finish in the 1958 World Cup. This was the atmosphere in which Platini grew up, where French players were recognized more for their basic and unstylish playing style than for their technical skill.

Michel Platini rose to prominence as a midfielder with AS Nancy in the late 1970s, scoring 98 goals in 181 games during a particularly turbulent period in French football. Since those glorious days in 1958, the national team has only once qualified for the World Cup, in 1966, when they were eliminated virtually quickly.

Platini's talent as a player should not be diminished by the fact that his career as an administrator is now in shambles, and some may argue that his name will be sullied forever. Michel Platini, the three-time European Footballer of the Year, was an exceptional player whose playing history should be preserved at the very least.

Michel Platini body measurements

Speaking about

Michel Platini body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the French former star is 5 ft 10 in (179 cm) and weighs 163 lbs (74 kg).

Michel Platini net worth and salary

Regarding

Michel Platini’s social media

platforms, it should be mentioned that there is no information available at the time of writing.

According to reports in mid-2021,

Michel Platini’s net worth

is over $15 million, which he obtained not only during his playing career but also as a football coach and via his engagement in football management and administration.

Platini was the top scorer in Serie A for three consecutive seasons, winning various accolades and medals. In 1985, he won the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, as well as another Serie A title the following year. All of this increased his net worth.

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